Luster Properties of Polyester Filament Yarn Woven Fabrics

Polyester filament yam fabric specimens, plain, twill, and satin with varying levels of yam twist, are prepared to measure their luster properties. Images of the fabrics under specific illumination and viewing angles are acquired for further luster characterization, since the reflectance properties of the fabrics are highly angle-dependent. Along with the image analyses, goniometric luster is analyzed at varying angles to support macrolevel luster characterization. As yam twist increases, the luster unit size diminishes accordingly, resulting in macrolevel gloss decreases. While conventional goniometric gloss measure ments represent the macrolevel luster properties of fabrics, detailed analyses of luster images provide an explanation of the “quality” of fabric luster.